Supporters of Asante Kotoko have
been asked to have the confidence that two of the club’s players
Stephen Oduro and Kwadwo Poku ‘Mahala’ who have been sidelined
for months by injury would return to action soon.

The two players have neither
trained actively nor featured for the team since the start of
the 2009/2010 season. Indeed they could not train as expected
even during the off-season in view of their condition.

Stephen Oduro and Kwadwo Poku have
both been battling with a knee injury. Thankfully, Alex Asamoah,
who was also on the injury list for a while featured for
sixty-one minutes in last Sunday local derby against King Faisal
before he was substituted by Kabiru Imoro.

Stephen Oduro and Kwadwo Poku on
the other hand recently underwent a Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(MRI) scan in Accra.

Reports of the MRI scan are yet to
be made public, however, team doctor Kwaku Boateng who has been
closely monitoring the condition of the players says there was
no need for supporters of the club to panic, to the extent of
losing hope that the duo would be back in time to join their
colleagues.

Although the hard working team
doctor appreciated the feeling of majority of the fans who have
shown and continue to expressed ‘pain’ over the absence of the
players, he disclosed that it was nothing unusual for players to
be sidelined by injury for a long period.

The medical doctor cited copious
instances across the world where players have been knocked out
by injury to buttress his stance. He thus reiterated that what
the players were experiencing was nothing bizarre.

“The supporters’ reaction is
natural but they should not despair. The players will be fine.
They should pray for them and be confident that they will
recover soon” he says.

While one is not exactly sure how
the performance and contribution of these players would have
altered the fortunes of the team in the ongoing Glo Premier
League, many are those who are convinced that the Porcupines
would have been better off with Kwadwo Poku and Stephen Oduro
playing an active role in the team.

Though this could all be mere
feelings, given the skill, intelligence, influence in addition
to the experience of Stephen Oduro; the efficacy of Kwadwo
Poku’s striking power on a good day the feeling cannot be easily
rubbished or dismissed.